Searching for the Escaped Dog

This is why we needed an electronic fence

Running back to the house, I tell my wife what happened.
Panic ensues:
both of us imagine Taffy being hit by a car as she crosses
the busy street right next to our house. Our fence
was there primarily for pet containment, after all,
so Taffy really didn't have any experience being
on her own and wouldn't know what was dangerous
and what wasn't.

Taffy's mug shot: doesn't she look guilty?

We can't both
go searching for her because our daughter is sleeping
upstairs in her crib, so my wife decides to drive
around in her car and search for Taffy while I stay at
the house and call the dog's name on the off chance she's
still in the area. Dino, of course, stays inside
where it's much easier to keep a dog safe.

Luckily for us, Taffy didn't go far. Instead of following
and crossing the busy road, she had walked across the lawn
to go explore our neighborhood. That's why Dino had barked
earlier 
he saw her run by the front door! My wife was just around the
corner in her car, about to leave the neighborhood,
when I saw a shape trotting towards us from a nearby
crescent. It was Taffy, finally responding to
our calls. She was safe!

We decided then and there to get ourselves
an Invisible Fence brand electronic fence system.